Railway-brake-adjusting means



Jan. 31, 1928.

c. o. ANDER SON RAILWAY BRAKE ADJUSTING MEANS Filed Jan. 0, 1925 7 C 0. ANDERSON. M w

ll atented .lan. til,

GJEIARLIEE U. AhllDElitElON, 013" OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

BAILWAY-BRAKE-ADJUSTING MEAN$.

Application filed January My invention relates to manually operated adjusting means "for railway air-brakes. 1t the object of my invention to provide simple and inexpensive means which may be readily applied to the present standard brake-rigging of railway cars, and which will enable accurate adjustment to be made of the slack or brake-shoe clearance when the brakes are in release position. A. more particular object of my invention is to provide means for accurate adjustment of railway,

of an ordinary :treightcar, having my a'dj usting means applied tothe floating-lever, or second equalizingdever thereoit, Fig. 2 1s a similar view of a portion of thegmechanism, drawn to a larger scale than in .lTig. 1, Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 3'3 of Fig. 2, 4-. is a plan view showing portions ot a brake mechanism having my adjusting means applied to the cylinder-lever or first equalizin -lever, Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the ad usting means as applied to the cyl-' inder-lever, and Fig. 6 is a detail side View of the adjustingyoke on the piston-rod, the cylinder-lever being in section on the line at of Fig. 5.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is indicated in dotted outline the trance 7 of a freight-car,

and the wheels 8 thereof, the brake mecha' nism being shown by :tull lines, in the usual relation to the car-body and wheels. parts of the brake-mechanism indicated in the figure a "e the brake-shoes 9, brake-beams 10, dead-levers 11, live-levers 12, thebottomrods 13 which connect the lower ends of the truck-levers, the brake-rods ortop-rods 14 which connect the live-levers with the equalizing-levers, the latter being the floating lever 15 and cylinder-lever 16, the connect ing-rod 1'4" which connects the equalizinglevers to each other, the brakacylinder 18, brake'pistonaod l9,hand-bralre-rod 20, and

spaced longitudinally of the bracket.

The

30, 1925. Serial No. 5,787.

handwhe'el 21. lit will be understood that all of the parts above named are constructed, proportioned and arranged to operate in the usual and well-niown manner, the brakecylinder being fixedly connected with and supported upon the sills of the car-frame, and the upper or tulcrumed ends of the dead levers being pivotally connected with the truck-bolsters (not shown).

In the type or brake-rigging represented in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, adjustment of slack in the brake-mechanism is effected by varying the connection between the fulcrumed end of the floating-lever 15 and the fulcrum-bracket- 22 which is fixedly secured to the sills ot the car-frame. Said bracket 22 has a pair of spaced parallel plates between which the end of the lever extends, and said plates have therein a series of holes 23 tor receiving the fulcrum-pin 24:, said holes being uniformly ltn the ordinary construction the lever has a single hole for receiving the fulcrum-pin, so that the minimum amount of adjustment that may be 'etl'ected is that resulting from transferring the fulcrum-pin from one of the holes 23 in the bracket to the next adjacent hole of the series. In my improved adjusting means I provide the lever 15 with laterally extending lugs 25 which form an enlargement or head in which are formed a plurality oi holes 26 for receiving the tulcrinn-pin 2d. Saidholes 26 are equidistant trom the center of the pin 27 which connects the lever with the rod 17, and the holes are spaced apart differently from the spacing of the holes 23 in the bracket. In the structure shown there are three of the holes 26 in the lever head, and the distance from center to center of said holes is one-third greater than the distance from center to center ot theholes 23, or, for example, it said holes 23 are spaced 1 inches apart, the holes 26 should be 2' inches apart. By this vernier-like relation of the two series of holes, in the bracketand lever, pairs of theholes may be brought into register, to receive the fulcrum-pin, by variations in the relat on of the bracket and lever of only one-th rd the distance between the holes 23. Thus a much more accurate adjustment of the slack of the brakes may be made than is possible by the usual construction, wherein there is asingle fulcrum-pin hole in the lever, as before noted. The adyantages inherent in accurate slack-adjustment 0t brakes, whereby unilid min

tormity of piston-travel and braking-pressure may be attained, are well-known to those skilled in the art, and need not be here enlarged upon. Obviously, any desired number of holes may be provided in the lever-head, the spacing ct siiich holes being in such proportion to the holes in the bracket as to success vely come into register with the latter by uniform variations in the relations of the lever and bracket. in actual practice however, the i'iuinber oi holes shown is Sulli- .cient to attain the desired result, and is preterable tor the reason that the levcnhead need not be Very la In Figs. 4;, 5 and 6 there is shown plication of my invention to make-r1 of the type in which slaclc-adjustment is etfected by Variations in the relation ot the cylinder-lever and the brake-p ston-rod. In this type of brake-1 iggiiig the piston-rod ll) carries at the end thereof a yoke 28 of which the intermediate portion comprises spaced parallel portions between which the end of the cylindcrdever ez-ztends and w 1h which. it is connected by a tulcruiiirpin The handbrake-rod 20 is connected directly with the end-portion ot' the yoke. instead of being connected with an extended portion of the cylinder-lever as in the arrangement shown in Fig. 1. In the parallel spaced plate-port'ions ot the yoke 28 there are a plurality of holes 30 arranged in two longitudinal rows, the holes in each row being); uniformly spaced apart, and being in interspaced or staggered relation to the holes of the other row. The cylinderdever 16 has a separate head 31 which fits slidably between the sides of the yoke, said head being formed with a central recess or socket into which the end of the lever extends and with which it is fixedly connected by a belt or riret 32. in the head 31 are a plurality of holes 33 each adapted to receive the fulcrum-pin 29 when placed in register with one of the holes 30 of the yoke, for operatively connecting the yoke and lever in adjusted relations. The holes 33 are arranged 01" course, at uniform radial distances from the center of the pin 3% which connects the lever with the rod 17,

and said holes are so spaced apart laterally of the lever as to have a Vernier-like relation to the holes 30 of the yoke. Although the holes 30 are arranged in two longitudinal rows, the holes 33 in the lever-head may be brought into register with the holes 30 of either row, by a sl ght longitudinal shifting of the lever. which is permitted by lateral swinging oi the connecting-rod 1'2" and of the top-rod 1 which is connected with the opposite end of the lever. Adjustments may thus be made in substantially the same man nor as it the holes 30 were arranged in a single row and spaced apart at one-half the distances between the succhssive holes each of the two rows of the arrangement shown.

nemesis i .s analogous to that may be applied to bralo types n'bere a the 'l 'l-t-ail-- jlLcJlGl'ltS are made at the truclelev and a snccilic application ol" such l1l:lllf-?l'lll;);

It s noted that the term equalizing-h er is he ein employed to dcsigi'uitc la'oadly either the c ider-levci: the floating-lever. or any lQK.. employed in a system or i to proportionally distribute the i rce to a plurality of m m' hers and w Jrein slack oil the bral-zjes may be adjusted by varying; the relation o'l such lerer to a part or n'ieinber with which the lever has a tulcrumed or pivotal inncctiou. The term brake-lot on is similarly employed to designate any lever o'l' a brake I in which may be varied in its relation to a part or member with which it is pivotall connected or on which it is jtulcruincth to e ect adjustments of slack or to COIHPQII' sate wear of the brakes.

New having described my in vention, what I claim and desire to secure by lQetter-s Patent is:

l. Slack adjusting); means 'l'or railway bralres, comprising, in ionibinatioin a brahelever 11 member with which said lever i: piyotally connected said member ha vine; a series of fulcrum-pin holes unitoruily spaced longitudinally thereof. said l rcr having; :1 head adjoining; said member and said head havinga plurality oi 'Fulcrunii-pin holes therein spaced di'llcrentl troni the holes in said member and adapted to re ljister successively with the holes therein by varie tions in the relative position ol the lever less than the d ant-es between successive holes of said series.

Slack-adyustcng; means to railway just any one hole of the head is in FCQlStQl' with any hole in the ad Listing-member, and a positions intermediate those at which lull lllfi llil lIll

llit) fulcrum-pin insertible through the registering holes to pivotally connect the lever and said adjustingunemben 3. In a railway brake-rigging, the combination of an equalizing-leven a member associated with said lever in relations variable to compensate slack of the brake-rigging, said member having a uniformly spaced series of fulcrum-pin holes therein, said equalizing-lever having a plurality of holes arranged in Vernier-like relation to the series of holes in said member, whereby to register with successive holes of said series at adjusted relations of the parts varying by amounts less than the distances between adjacent holes of the series, and a 'tlulcrunr pin insertible through the registering holes to pivotally connect the parts in said adjusted relations.

4. In a railway brake rigging, the combination of an equalizing-lever, a member associated with said lever in relations variable to compensate slack or the brake-rigging, said member having therein a series of fulcru1n-pin holes uniformly spaced longitu dinally and staggered transversely thereof, said equalizing-lever having a plurality of fulcrum-pin holes arranged to register separately but not simultaneously with holes of said series, whereby some or the holes may be in register at adjusted relations of the parts varying by amounts less than the longitudinal distances between holes of said series and a fulcrum-pin insertible through the registering holes to pivotally connect the parts in said adjusted relations.

GHARLEfe o. iiivnnnsou. 

